New Delhi: Aviation regulator DGCA on Tuesday said 40 Boeing 737 Max planes of domestic carriers have been inspected for possible loose hardware, and a washer was missing in one aircraft where rectification was done.
Akasa Air, Air India Express and SpiceJet together have 40 Boeing 737 Max planes in their fleets. Boeing had recommended a one-time inspection of all Boeing 737 Max planes for possible loose hardware before January 10. The aircraft maker's move had come based on information from an operator of a missing nut and washer in the Aft Rudder Quadrant on the Boeing 737 Max plane.
This inspection was recommended before the Alaska Airlines incident and is not related to it. A senior DGCA official on Tuesday said out of the 40 Boeing 737 Max planes of the three Indian carriers, inspections on 39 aircraft have been completed with nil findings, except on one aircraft wherein a missing washer was found.
"Rectification action as per recommendations of Boeing has been taken before the release of this aircraft. Inspection on the remaining one aircraft will be completed before release for service," the official said.
A door blow-out mid-air on a new Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 airliner last week risked the lives of 177 passengers on board. This latest mishap has put Boeing under scrutiny. The airliner was not allowed to take off globally from March 2019 until December 2020 following two separate crashes that claimed 345 lives.
On Friday an Alaska Airlines plane was compelled to make an emergency landing, shortly after it departed from the Portland International Airport in Oregon. Although the official crew claimed it to be a mere issue of pressurisation, terrifying photos of the incident took the internet by storm.
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